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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The U.S. Senate last month addressed
a number of issues affecting the health and rights of women and girls, including
a bill against child marriage passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee to renew the landmark Violence Against
Women Act (VAWA), as well as a new campaign by Democratic Senators, One
Million Strong for Women, in response to recent political attacks on
women’s health and rights.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Passes Child Marriage
Bill

The Senate Foreign Relations
Committee passed a bill seeking to protect girls in developing countries by ending
child marriage. Introduced by Senators Dick Durbin
(D-IL) and Olympia Snow (R-ME), the International Protecting Girls by
Preventing Child Marriage Act (S.414) would require the U.S.
government to develop a strategy toward ending the practice and authorize the President
to provide assistance to reduce child marriage. In late 2012, a similar bill
passed unanimously in the Senate but was blocked in the House of
Representatives.

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Landmark Domestic
Violence Bill

The Senate Judiciary
Committee voted to reauthorize the U.S. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a
landmark and historically bipartisan bill first signed by President Bill
Clinton in 1994. The bill (S.1925) seeks to improve law
enforcement’s capacity to respond to reports of domestic violence and sexual
assault and to improve protections for victims. In 2000 and 2005, the bill was reauthorized
with bipartisan support. But this year, for first time, the bill received a
party-line vote of 10-8 in committee. The legislation is now on the calendar
for consideration by the full Senate.

In a collective response to
recent attacks on women’s health and rights, including abortion rights,
contraception, and Planned Parenthood, 16 Democratic senators and
representatives have launched One Million Strong for Women, a campaign that reaffirms their commitment to
protecting women’s health and rights. To date, nearly 270,000 people have
signed the campaign in support of the cause.